Jeremy Guscott’s try and a nerveless kicking display from Matt Dawson handed Clive Woodward’s England their first victory over southern hemisphere opposition and deprived South Africa of a record-breaking 18th consecutive Test victory.

With both sides crossing for converted tries in the first half the difference on the scoreboard came from Dawson prevailing in his kicking duel with Percy Montgomery, who missed one penalty from bang in front of the posts.

The Springboks struck first when Pieter Rossouw sidestepped England full-back Nick Beal and raced over for a try in the corner. It was a sublime finish but it failed to knock England off course and they responded with a try of their own soon after. Mike Catt launched a crossfield kick towards Dan Luger and he rose above Stefan Terblanche to claim the ball before popping it down to the onrushing Guscott for a converted try.

Dawson’s two penalties after the break gave the England a six-point lead heading into the final minute but an ambitious South African counterattack nearly broke English hearts. The Boks ran 50 metres and put the ball through five pairs of hands before delivering what seemed like a scoring pass to Terblanche. But Luger was wise to the attack and got fingertips to the pass to prevent a certain try. England held on for a watershed victory and were world champions five years later.

2. South Africa 15 – England 32, June 4 1994, Loftus Versfeld

A landmark match. South Africa hosted England with a new flag and a new president, Nelson Mandela, for the first time following their return from apartheid isolation. The match, which was immortalised at the start of Hollywood film Invictus, was meant to be a glorious celebration of the Springboks but ended up being a harsh reality check for the hosts.

England, wretched and overpowered in the pre-Tests tour matches, stunned the Boks by racing into a 23-6 half-time lead courtesy of superb tries from Ben Clarke and Rob Andrew. The Wasps fly-half added three penalties after the break as England held on for only their second win on South African soil. For once, though, this was an occasion South Africans remembered for its off-field significance, and not the result.

3. South Africa 22 – England 27, June 24 2000, Bloemfontein

Jonny Wilkinson scored all 27 points as England went deep into Afrikaner territory and emerged with a first away win against southern hemisphere opponents under Woodward. The fly-half, aged just 21, bossed the match and kicked his goals with ice-cold temperament, but was given a perfect platform by a forward pack who won the battle at the contact area and held the upper hand in the set-piece.

A late rally from the Springboks, including a controversial try from Joost van der Westhuizen, had England sweating and they had Austin Healey to thank for some committed scramble defence that prevented the Boks adding a potentially decisive score at the last.

4. England 53 – South Africa 3, Nov 23 2002, Twickenham

The Springboks, so often lauded for their physicality, descended into outright thuggery in this match and paid the price with lock Jannes Labuschagne’s red card after 23 minutes leaving the tourists a man down against a rampant England side. Seven tries for England and a heaviest ever defeat for the Boks but the highlights reel after the match was notable, not for England’s impressive finishing, but for the amount of cheap shots dished out by South Africa and their bully-boy captain Corne Krige.

England ended their autumn series unbeaten against the southern hemisphere following victories against New Zealand and Australia and continued to grow in confidence ahead of the 2003 World Cup.

5. South Africa 36 – England 27, June 16 2012, Ellis Park

A breathtaking match that saw England recover from a first-half brutalising to escape the Highveld with credit following a spirited comeback. Willem Alberts crashed over in the third minute to kick-start a South African onslaught that effectively killed England’s hopes of squaring the three-Test series, following defeat in Durban the week before. Bismarck du Plessis and Francois Hougaard added first-half tries to leave England trailing 25-10 at the break.

The Springboks took their foot off the gas and a second-half brace from Ben Youngs raised hopes of an upset until JP Pietersen struck with a tremendous solo effort to win the match and the series for South Africa.